Hitting a stall?? This is a repost...

cabin111
on 6/15/11 3:13 pm
Disregard if you have seen this before.  But for you new people who hit a stall for several weeks and feel frustrated that the scale is not moving the copy and paste below may help you...Brian
Below is a copy and paste from DX...very knowledgeable man.  It might help.  

Still staying on-track calorie-wise? And the scale shows you stopping? Or Even Gaining?!?!? ----------------------------Re-Post Unsolicited advice/info… -------------------------------------- Pull back from your ‘daily’ charting, and look at a weekly or even monthly. There are up and down spikes each day, But if you ‘graph’ the highest to the lowest, I’d bet there is still A downward slope over the course of the month. There’s an 8 to 10lb. volume of "wiggle room" due to water alone. And it comes into play a lot. This has to do with our bodies using glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, But it is stored in our muscles for quick energy – One pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, And the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, (Like when you drop down to your calorie intake) Your body turns first to stored glycogen, Which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, You also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it Voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of any diet. As you stay in caloric deficit, however, Your body starts to ‘realize’ that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue And burning fat for energy. But your body also ‘realizes’---- (by way of your liver releasing hormones signaling low Cal intake) ---That fat can't be used for short bursts of energy – Like, to outrun a saber-tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, And rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, (Thus showing negative Calorie load overall) Your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while As you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored. Yes? The whole ‘weight-loss’ process is not a straight "Slide" down the scale. More like "Stair-Steps," (Down then forward, then down, then forward, etc... As your body cycles fat out of "deep storage" and through the Liver Into the muscles as Glycogen. The muscles and Liver can hold about a 3 weeks supply. This is why many people find that their "Stall" or "Plateau" Breaks when adding a bit of exercise And upping their water intake, or in the case of an "extreme exerciser," The total Calorie or Protein Intake, To signal the liver to let go of more Glycogen. Fear not, many people who are now enjoying life at a normal BMI Once had a few weeks or so of thinking- "...my weight loss has been awfully slow, has it stopped..."? Hope this helps some. You are doing Great! Keep it Up! Best Wishes-Mike Wazowski Dx

Antonia R.
on 6/15/11 4:04 pm - University Park, IL
VSG on 06/11/13
Seeing those posts about stalls and not losing fast enough drive me nuts sometimes..........It's better than what we were doing on our own be still not enough for us......lol
shirleyfhoffman
on 6/15/11 5:28 pm - CA
I knew about the week three stall, so when I stopped losing right before week three, I wasn't worried. I'm 6 weeks out now and I gained 2 pounds back. Drives me nuts! I'm doing everything right and still trying not to worry. Just makes me nervous sometimes. Trying not to get discouraged. Thanks for the post!

 
  
HW:340 SW: 292 CW:164 GW: 140-130

Stacey-71
on 6/15/11 8:32 pm - OH

I am about 4 weeks out now. No "dreaded stall", but this was very informative and helpful!
Thanks! 

    
loudlibrarian
on 6/15/11 10:43 pm
I think the problem is that while we are all different, we all compare ourselves to others.  And logically, I know that losing 20 pounds in a month is awesome, when the scales get stuck and won't move, I automatically start to worry that I am that one girl that this didn't work for, even though I am doing mostly everything that I am supposed to do. I started at the gym this week, and the scales started moving again....Whew!!  Thanks for the explanation! I've seen it before, but every time I read it I feel a little better.
TheButterflye
on 6/16/11 12:04 am - Prince Georges County, MD
good read!

              
 

 

Carrie W.
on 6/16/11 12:37 am - KY
This is one of the reasons why I'm so grateful I found this website! My doctor's office didn't explain about things like this. While it makes it hard not to compare myself to others, it does help knowing that others have been in the same boat.
  HW 347/SW 328/CW 176/GW 160                   
 
  
Jenny_D
on 6/16/11 3:07 am - Canton, GA
Thank you for this! Very educational!

I also knew about the 3 week stall, but when I stopped dropping daily pounds at less than two weeks out, I was freaking out that I was doing something wrong. I know better, but sometimes the desire to see that number on the scale move overrides logical thinking.

Now I have some new knowledge in my arsenal to get me through the bumps in the road.

Thanks!!
Jenny         HW: 268 / SW: 254 / CW: 180 / GW: 140
First 5K: 4.21.2012 - Time: 34:45 - 2nd Place in age group
Second 5K: 6.2.2012 - Time 37:09
               
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